Songs and Comforts
by H'te Rarpee
Summary: Jaune finds himself on the roof in a state of melancholy, so he decides to sing for the first time in years. somewhat WeissxJaune. My first one-shot so constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.


**Authors Note: This is an idea that has been swirling about in my brain for a little bit. I just imagined that Jaune is in a melancholic mood and goes to the roof of the dorms (or whatever they are) to muse to himself. He decides to sing for the first time in a while and Weiss finds him up there, and spontaneously joins in the song. **

Jaune was not doing well.

Sure he was at the prestigious school, Beacon. Sure he had good friends for a team. Sure he had been learning to fight from said team, and was coming along nicely. He should be happy, this was better than he had ever been, but all he could think of was his failures. He had been learning how to fight, but he was still the weakest on his team. He did not have Pyrrha's terrifying skill, Ren's grace in a fight, or Nora's overwhelming strength. His team practically ran itself, and more than once he questioned Ozpin's decision to make him team leader, or even accept him into beacon in the first place.

He had mused on these things while letting his feet take him wherever they wanted. He had barely noticed his hands grasping door handles and going up steps, and before he knew it, he was on the roof.

He wasn't feeling that terrible, was he?

He continued to walk, stepping up to the edge of the dorm's high roof. He stood there for just a moment, looking out at the stars twinkling above him. How had it gotten dark so fast? He was sure he had eaten dinner just moments ago with his team. He sat at the edge, letting his feet hang down, one push or slip would be all that was needed to send him tumbling to his death.

To this day he would not know what possessed him to sing. He had been raised by his mother while his father was always out, never having time for his family with his work. She had raised him on her own, and as such he learned many things that were not considered "manly". She had taught him to sing as a kid, and he always received praise from his mother and her friends when he did. According to them he had a great singing voice.

But one day his father heard him practicing.

Jaune's father believed that no man should learn things like how to sing, or cook or sew. Those things were left to the women and men learned to fight to protect the family and make a living. When he heard him practicing he had flown into a rage, hitting Jaune over and over again until the boy could barely whimper while he bled on the ground. This was the moment when his mother had had enough. The divorce papers were filed in an instant, and in barely a day or two they had left, traveling to Vale. But despite his mother insisting, he never sang again.

He had begun to have nightmares of practicing, and every time he had started to sing in his dreams, his father would appear out of nowhere and beat him. He could not run, nor hide. It was as if the man was everywhere. These nightmares carried over to real life, and Jaune found himself unable to sing out of fear that his father would appear, just like the dreams.

As he sat on the edge of the roof, memories of days past swirling about in his head, he opened his mouth, whether to speak to himself or to start crying, he did not know. But the moment his lips parted, a song he had heard once long ago came pouring out. It was a haunting melody, but the lyrics were written in a language he did not understand. He had heard the song in a theater one day, and had memorized it on the spot. It was beautiful, but from what he could gather from the play he heard it in, it spoke of death and loss. Friends who had been killed in a battle, leaving only one man to grieve their loss.

The strange lyrics flowed from his mouth, echoing in the night sky, and as he sang, tears began to stream from his eyes. He tried to blink them back, but for all his might he could not stop their flow. And then, like a wind from another world, a new voice joined the melody. A beautiful voice, floating across the roof, and he knew that this person had been singing their whole life. The difference in skill between them was like night and day, yet they mixed together in a beautiful harmony. The song picked up, growing louder and louder as he poured his heart and soul into the words. And then, it was over.

He waited for a moment, wondering if the unidentified person behind him would speak first. When they didn't, he tried to speak but his voice choked. His eyes widened as he turned and looked upon the face of Weiss Schnee. She stood behind him, her icy glare that he had become accustomed to see directed at him gone. With a start he realized that he was still crying, he wiped his face on his jacket sleeve, cursing himself for not doing this before he turned. He stood up, stretched for a moment before looking up at her.

"You have a beautiful voice" he said, sincerity lacing his voice.

"I could say the same about you" She murmured.

His eyes widened, she had complimented him? He opened his mouth to reply, but words failed him.

"Why were you crying?"

It must be the apocalypse. First a compliment, then genuine concern about him? Or maybe she just wanted something to make fun of him with him. He debated these things for a moment, and then decided to take a leap of faith and tell her.

"I was remembering a friend of mine. We had gone for a trip with the class to a dust mine, and he and I got lost in the caverns. We tried to find our way back, but as we were following the lanterns there was a cave in. it happened so fast, he was there, and then there was a boulder in the same place, he didn't even get to say anything." As he spoke, the tears came back with renewed force. "We learned the cave in was because of a rare tunneling grim that had been attracted by the dust in the mine. As I sat there, waiting to be found by the rescue team I made the decision to become a hunter, so that no one would ever have to go through what I did."

By the time he finished the story, his tears had developed into sobs as the memories of that day came back with renewed force

"But I suppose that doesn't matter does it? I don't have strength, or skill, no natural talent or even a unique weapon. Just an aura I barely can use and a sword I am more likely to stab myself with instead of the Grimm in front of me."

He continued to sob, and before he could stop himself he was spilling every insecurity, every worry, every problem he had with himself to her. She remained silent, but in a show of kindness he thought impossible for her she pulled him forward and hugged him. Still she was silent, but he supposed he preferred that to her trying to say something. He continued to speak, clutching at her and sobbing, his tears falling unto her uniform as the dam he had built up for so long broke apart.

Eventually, he stepped back, the tears having died down.

"Why? I can tell you don't like me, why did you do this?"

"Because you can't bottle everything up forever, you will only destroy yourself if you try. I learned that lesson a long, long time ago. When I saw you up here, singing that song and hearing your tears, I knew I couldn't leave you to deal with this yourself, especially on a roof."

He smiled sadly, before fixing his tie that had been skewed and straightening his jacket.

"Thank you, I really mean it" he said.

"Whatever, we should hurry, curfew is in just a few minutes" She responded, the ice back in her voice, but he knew she didn't mean it. There was warmth and kindness behind that icy wall she put up. They walked in silence, going through the halls of the dorms.

"Jaune!"

He looked up, seeing Pyrrha running towards him.

"Where were you? We were looking for ages-Weiss?"

She walked past, not saying anything to either of them as she stepped into team RWBY's room

She gave him a questioning look, but he merely smiled at her, causing her heart to flutter. Pyrrha was glad to see the fire in his eyes again, the same fire he had had after initiation. It had slowly been dimming as they had trained, but now it was full strength again. She wanted to ask what had changed but knew that she shouldn't pry.

Jaune didn't feel perfect, he knew he still had his faults, but for the first time in a long time he felt happy, genuinely, truly happy. And maybe by tomorrow the melancholy would be back. Maybe this would only last a couple of hours, but for now he was happy.

And that was all he needed.


End file.
